In the art of cabinetmaking, particularly custom cabinetmaking, the cabinets are typically made at the cabinet shop and transported to the place of installation without the doors attached. Still, some cabinetmakers choose to attach the doors in the cabinetmaker's shop. Transporting the cabinets without the doors attached reduces the chance of the cabinet doors being damaged during transportation. In this case, the cabinet door hinges are affixed to the cabinet doors in the shop, but the mounting plates for attaching the door hinges to the cabinets are mounted at the place of installation. In the usual procedure, the distance of the door hinge from the top of the cabinet door is measured and this measurement is marked on the cabinet box opening at the proper location using a tape measure or scale. The remaining door hinges are mounted the same way. This manual installation method is quite time consuming and if the marking is not exact, the cabinet door will be out of alignment and have to be reinstalled.
Devices have been known to aid in installing cabinet hinges such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,769. In this patent, a marking gauge is provided for marking the location of hinges and mounting plates for the hinges. The gauge is used to mark holes for the mounting plate, and the mounting plate is attached by wood screws. A hinge is then inserted into the mounting plate, and the screw holes are marked on the door for the hinges which are then mounted on the door.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,671,538 and 7,299,554 82 disclose mounting tools for cabinets and doors which include a general U-shaped member that grips the edge of the box opening so that a mounting plate of the hinge may rest on top of the tool in a desired location. The screw holes are then marked, the mounting tool removed, and the mounting plate attached by screws.
Design Pat. 0547,680 S discloses a design of a hinge template. U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,007 82 discloses a hinge jig of general interest.
Thus, the provision of an adjustable hinge alignment fixture that can easily be set for locating mounting plates for a variety of hinges, and when the hinge has already been affixed to the door, is a problem that needs to be met.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a universal hinge alignment fixture which can be used to mount a number of different types of hinges to cabinets, eliminating measuring the marking all together.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge alignment fixture which provides for quick and easy location of a mounting plate carried by the hinge alignment fixture and be adjustable in its position to align many different cabinet applications.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge alignment fixture upon which a hinge and mounting plate can be affixed to the fixture and adjustable cabinet slide stops may be utilized to set the desired distance between the top or bottom of the cabinet opening and the mounting plate in a quick and easy manner.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and reliable door alignment hinge fixture which can be held by one hand while a hinge and mounting plate are held by the fixture so that the mounting plate may be screwed in place while held by the fixture using a power drill and the like.